From 2021 to 2025, Russian courts issued decisions on at least 187 cases for the public use of symbols related to Alexei Navalny, calculated 'Verstka'**. Fines were imposed on 104 people, 52 were placed under administrative arrest. All protocols were drawn up under the article on 'propaganda or public demonstration of Nazi symbols or symbols of extremist organizations', which provides for a fine of up to 2.5 thousand rubles or arrest for up to 15 days.
Residents of Russia were fined for a red exclamation mark on a white background, mentioning the 'Smart Voting' project, inscriptions calling for Navalny's release, and even for a photo of an Easter egg with the letter 'N'.
In 2021, after Navalny was recognized as the organizer of an 'extremist community', law enforcement began drafting the first protocols for reposting broadcasts from his YouTube channel and publishing logos of various political projects. It did not matter when the post or photo was posted; if they were not deleted, the police considered it a 'continuing offense'.
According to 'Verstka', in Moscow alone, in the summer and autumn of 2022, at least 44 people were punished for the 'Smart Voting' symbol. In 2023, there were fewer cases, but punishments were not only for symbols related to Alexei Navalny's organizations and projects but simply for the surname 'Navalny'. A resident of the Volgograd region was arrested for 7 days for writing 'Freedom to Navalny' on an entrance door with orange paint.
In 2024, as calculated by the publication, at least 57 cases were submitted to the courts. 20 people were arrested for periods ranging from 3 to 15 days. Furthermore, after Alexei Navalny's death, Russians were fined even for photos of the politician that they posted on social networks or brought to memorials. In August of last year, Moscow resident Vera Novikova was arrested for 15 days for holding balloons with the inscription 'Navalny'. According to the court, the girl's guilt was that she demonstrated the surname of an 'individual for whom there is information about involvement in extremist activities and terrorism'.
St. Petersburg resident Lika Dyachkina was fined three times for posting photos of Navalny at the Solovetsky Stone.
* Included in the list of 'terrorists and extremists'.
** Recognized in Russia as a 'foreign agent'.
Photo: Reuters